Stripteasers: The Anatomy and Career Contingencies of a Deviant Occupation

Abstract

The initiation of and commitment to deviance involves an interaction between the characteristics of the individuals, their experiences, and a number of situational conditions. Thus becoming deviant is a process which includes a series of “career contingencies” on which completion of the process depends. This paper concerns stripteasing, an occupation in which women earn their living by removing their clothes in a titillating fashion before paying audiences. Included are: a description of the occupation; data concerning physical, psychological, and social characteristics of women stripping on a theater circuit; and data on the situational factors surrounding their decision to enter the occupation. It appears that the career sequence for most strippers involves three contingencies: 1) a tendency toward exhibitionistic behavior for gain, 2) an opportunity structure making stripping an accessible occupational alternative, and 3) a sudden awareness of the easy economic rewards derived from stripping.